History repeats itself. That’s the phrase that has been drilled into our heads since we were kids. Little did we know that it would not only apply to general history but to sports as well. This year, especially in college football, will be no different. History can, and will, repeat itself, and here’s how.
Let’s start by comparing last year’s teams to this year’s.
This year’s Miami: Oklahoma. Two years ago, the Miami Hurricanes were snubbed by the Bowl Championship Series and not given a title shot against Oklahoma. A year later, they went undefeated and ran away with the Sears Trophy. This year, it’s Oklahoma’s year again. After falling short of the BCS in 2001 with a fluke loss to in-state rival Oklahoma State, the Sooners are this year’s favorite to not only win the national title but to run the table and become the first team in history to go 14-0. With an unbelievably dominating defense and an offense that can go nowhere but up, the Sooners’ schedule favors an undefeated season. Their first test comes against Alabama on Sept. 7, and they will not be tested again until the Red River War against Texas on Oct. 12. Good thing Oklahoma doesn’t have to deal with Kansas State or Nebraska (at least until the Big 12 Championship game comes around in December).
This year’s Florida State: Georgia. Florida State had a horrible season under Bowden standards last year. FSU went 8-4 with a win in the Gator Bowl against Virginia Tech. The Seminoles were expected to do great things last year, as they are every year, but with injuries and bad defense, they struggled to 8-4. Georgia could be this year’s version of FSU. Although UGA has talent on the field with returning quarterback David Greene running the show, the Bulldogs are in a tough position and could find themselves not only in a lackluster bowl game, but fighting to stay alive in the SEC East.
Georgia is ranked in or near the top 10 in the polls this year and could very possibly start 1-1 or even 0-2 before they “scrimmage” Northwestern State and New Mexico State. The ‘Dawgs also must travel to Alabama and Auburn, while hosting Tennessee and bitter rival Georgia Tech to close out the year. Oh, and then there’s also that thing they call “the cocktail party.” When Georgia meets Florida in Jacksonville this year, more will be on the line for Georgia than how many bottles of Jack Daniels they throw down that weekend. This year’s Alabama: Mississippi State. Yeah, there might be a little bias behind this, but come on, the Bulldogs can’t do any worse than 3-8, can they? Two years ago, Alabama was on top of the world in the preseason, being picked not only to contend for the SEC title but to make a run at the national title. That season, the Tide went 3-8. A year later, when most people thought of them to finish in the SEC cellar, they came out with a solid season that included a Independence Bowl victory over Iowa State. Last year, it was our beloved Bulldogs who were tabbed as the team to beat in the SEC West, and the entire conference, for that matter. How did they fare? You remember what happened… 3-8.
This year, it’s MSU’s time to turn around. Playing six games in the friendly confines of Davis Wade Stadium, the Bulldogs have a chance to go undefeated at home. Yes, I said UNDEFEATED at home. That includes beating Tennessee here. Impossible? No. Crazy? Maybe. If that prediction holds up, and if State can steal a road game or two, they could find themselves squarely in the race for a decent bowl game.
This year’s BYU: Marshall. Almighty BYU had their lawsuit all ready last year. They were going to sue the BCS for not including them in the proceedings despite their undefeated record. But wait, BYU didn’t go undefeated last year, did they? The Cougars were flat out embarrassed at Hawaii in the final game of the regular season, and were thus completely knocked out of the BCS race. The Cougars then lost their meaningless bowl game 28-10 to Louisville. Despite their undefeated record for most of the season, BYU wasn’t going to be considered for the BCS simply because their schedule was weak. That’s the case with Marshall this year. The Thundering Herd simply don’t play anyone this year. The exception is their week 2 game at Virginia Tech.
Va Tech is down this year though, and the Herd could easily come out of Blacksburg with a ‘W’, but it still won’t be enough. The Sporting News gives Marshall a 4-to-1 chance of running the table this season, but it could land them a berth in the Motor City Bowl, which is where the MAC champion plays. Sorry, Marshall, but it’s your own fault for not playing anyone.
The great thing about this time of the year is that anyone and everyone can speculate about how the season will go and who can do what. Who knows? What I said could be a million miles from the truth in about three weeks–that’s the beauty of college football.
Speaking of college football, each week during the season, I will outline a ten best list. This week, we’ll discuss the top 5 college fight songs. So here we go.
No. 5–“Rocky Top”–I know this song gets on everyone’s nerves especially arond the SEC, but you can’t help but get a little excited when you hear this song play. It definitely puts me in the football mood. Let’s just hope UT’s band doesn’t show up here November 16th.
No. 4–“Boomer Sooner”–Yale actually has the rights to the song, but Oklahoma still took the melody and turned it into one of the most recognizable fight songs in college sports. With one simple tune repeated over and over again until the end, it’s one of those songs that if heard enough will be stuck in your head for days.
No. 3–“Hail to the Victors”–One of the most recognizable melodies in college sports, or all sports for that matter. It, just like the other songs on the list is one of those tunes that makes you want to put on the pads and go hit someone.
No. 2–“Cheer for Notre Dame”–If you’ve seen the movie “Rudy” or even watched a Notre Dame football game on television, you’ve heard this song, and chances are, you remember it. Most people actually know more than just the first line of the song and the tune is very memorable.
No. 1–“Texas Aggie War Hymn”–I have to give major props to a school whose fight song trashes their rival.
“Goodbye to Texas University, so long to the orange and the white…